Mexico weekly ledger., 1887-06-23
General nraxe 81 chtok~maag..

The Confederate Geaera. q, Il. Hill.
writes Of GAiekaaaaaga In the GeatsfsS,
From his account of the hattie we aesa
rs fellowss ssua the 10th of July Il
reported 10 General Bragg ut Ghaesar
nooga. ] had not seea him since ! had
been the 5aaiar lieutenant In his latteFs
Of artillery 1t Corpus sisrissi. Tex. IA
lS4S. The ether two liealeAants were
George II. Thomas and John i. keY-#
nolaS We four had been In the same
mess there. Reynolds had been killed
at Gettysburg twelve days hefage my
rev assignment. Thomas. the strong
est and mast pronounced sausAerner ef
the four. was now kesseraas lieatea.
ant. Il was . strange casting Of lots
that three messmates Of Corpus Christi
should meet under such changed cir
cumstanees at GhlekaMauga~
MY interview with General bragg
at Chattanooga was not satisfactory.
He was silent and reserved. and seemed
gloomy and aespeaaenk He had
grown prematarely cid since I SAW
him last. and showed much nervous
ness. His relations with his next In
command General Pelk1. and with
some other Of his sat,ordinates, were
known not 10 be pleasant His many
retreats, too. had alienatea the rank
and file from him, or at least had taken
away that enthusiasm which soldiers
feel for the successful general. and
which makes them obey his orders
without question. and TINS wins for
him other successes. The one thing
that soldier nevcr fails 10 understand
is victory, and the commander who
leads him TO vieferY viii be sdored by
him whether that victory has been won
by skin or by laundering. by the mas
terly handling Of q few troops against
great odds, or by the awkward use of
overwhelming numbers. Long before
Stonewalf jackson had risen 10 the
height of his great fame, he had won
the implicit confidence of his troops In
an his movements. Where are you
going?' one inquired of the foot cav
airy as they we've making the usual
stealthy march on the enemy's rear.
We don't know. but Jack does, was
the Laughing answer. This trust was
the fruit of past victories. and it led TO
other and greater achievements.
1.-The want of information at General
Bragg's headquarters was in striking
contrast with the minute knowledge
General Lee always had of every oper-
alton in his front, and I was most PAIN
fully impressed with the feeling that it
was TO be q hap-hazard campaign on
our part MY sympathies had all been
| with the commanding general. / knew
of the carping criticisms of his subordi
mates, and the cold looks of his sol
diers. and knew that these were the
natural results of reyerses. whether the
blame for the reverses lay with the
| commander or otherwise. I had felt,
too. that this lack Of confidence, or
lack Of enthusiasm, which ever it
might be, was ominous of evil for the
impending battle. But ignorance OF
| the enemy's movements seemed . still
worse portent of calamity. Rosecrans
had effected the crossing of the river
and had occupied wins Valley, be-
tween Sand and Lookout mountains,
without opposition. and had estab-
lished his headquarters at Trenton.
Lookout Mountain now interposed to
screen all the enemy's movements
from our observation. General Bragg
had said, petulantly, a few days before
the crossing into Wills Valley: 1t is
said to be easy to defend q mountain
GUS country, but mountains hide your
foe from you, while they are full of
gaps through which he can pounce
upon you at any time. a mountain is
like the wall of a house full of rat
holes. The rat lies hidden at his hole,
ready to pop suit when no one is
watching. Who can tell what lies
hidden behind that wallPs said he.
pointing to the Cumberland range
| across the river"